The High Court in the high profile commonly known 'Heyday case', ruled last Friday that employers can plan for the retirement of employees approaching the age of 65, but the decision only provides short term certainty, according to employment lawyer Ginny Hallam.

A partner at Midlands' law firm Berryman and head of the employment team, Ginny explains: "The 'Heyday case' saw the government challenged by Age UK amongst others to show that they were acting lawfully in allowing employers to plan for the retirement of individuals that were about to reach age 65 and to justify discrimination on the grounds of their age.

"Had the government lost the challenge, employers would need to wait until the individual reached an age beyond 65, meaning opportunities within that business would be fewer and could result in a greater turnover of staff.  

"In addition, employers wouldn't have been able to justify decisions taken on the grounds of an individual's age, for example, due to employment planning, maximising training and ensuring a reasonable period of employment before retirement, provided these are real needs of the business. The flexibility and ability to plan currently enjoyed by businesses, would have been significantly impaired." 

However, Ginny believes the High Court ruling could provide only a short-lived certainty: "Two days before the trial the government announced that it would review the current default retirement age ('DRA') of 65 in early 2010. The High Court said that had this not been the case their decision might have been different. They considered there were powerful reasons why a higher DRA should have been set - it might encourage cultural change in respect of older workers and ensure synergy with future rises in state pension age. 

"So, whilst employers can maintain current plans for older workers for now, they are likely to have to review these in the near future whilst perhaps changing their attitude to older workers and devising innovative ways to create opportunities for those with talent who need to be retained."